The man checks the door. He checks it again. And then again.
This repeated action is at the center of Iterum, a three-minute psychological thriller that Sixth Former Hugh Williams wrote, directed, filmed, and produced this summer. The film follows a man with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), with its title coming from the Latin word Iterum, meaning “again.”
Williams has submitted the film to several festivals, including the Sundance Film Festival.
Williams said he had always been interested in filmmaking. He was inspired after watching Obsession, the horror film, directed by Curry Barker, that gained widespread attention this summer. Barker began by making videos on YouTube before moving into feature filmmaking
“It was just so cool to me that an indie filmmaker, this guy who just posts comedy videos on YouTube, could become a global superstar director,” Williams said. “I was just like, ‘I’m gonna give it a shot.’”
Williams began the project by writing his first screenplay.
“I had never done anything with a camera before in my life,” Williams said. “I think the coolest thing about the project was that I learned how to do everything that goes into filmmaking as I made the film.”
Williams had experimented with color grading photos and videos of nature, inspired by edits he saw on Instagram. He began editing the film in Adobe Premiere Pro before switching to DaVinci Resolve for color grading. He also composed the film’s soundtrack using GarageBand.
“It isn’t the best film by any means. I was learning how to do it, but I think I put a lot of work into the color grading specifically, and I’m really happy with that,” Williams said.
“It takes an enormous amount of time to make a film that’s an hour and a half long. For my first [film], I just wanted to show myself that I could do it,” Williams said.
To study filmmaking techniques, Williams spent part of the summer watching films from Letterboxd’s list of the 300 greatest films. Williams also credited his father, who studied English and film in college and has written several books, with teaching him the importance of storytelling.
“I wanted to learn how to tell a story better,” Williams said.
The film stars Haverford alumnus Philip Okala ’26, who now attends Amherst College.
Okala said the idea for the project emerged after he, Williams, and several friends watched Obsession together.
“It was sort of whoever was available,” Okala said.
Okala said one of his biggest challenges was portraying the character’s movements and behavior.
“A lot of it isn’t able to come to life as well if you’re not fully calm and confident in yourself to deliver the subtle movements of a character with OCD,” Okala said.
Okala’s favorite shot occurs when the character walks into the kitchen after repeatedly locking the door and looks toward the camera through a mirror. Okala said the scene reminded him most of Obsession.
Williams plans to release Iterum publicly after receiving decisions from the film festivals to which he submitted it.
Okala said the film also explores the character’s relationship with a doctor whose actions affect his life at home.
After reviewing footage from the first day of shooting, Williams brought the actors back to reshoot scenes and incorporated suggestions from the cast and crew.
“That was a great way to see what we have, analyze it, assess it, see where we need to go from there, and rinse and repeat until we’re done,” Okala said.
Okala had acting experience before Iterum and plans to continue acting.
“This time I’m taking the exact same scene over and over again until we have one line of film that’s the best above all others,” Williams said.
“I think the entire character was a challenge, and that’s why I liked it so much,” Okala said.
Williams plans to release Iterum publicly after receiving decisions from the film festivals to which he submitted it.
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